So, Autodesk took the leap to the Mac by redesigning the minimalistic interface and some functionalities from the ground up, laying the foundations for future growth and increased capabilities. But if you’re switching from the Windows side to the Mac version, there are a few things you need to get used to - for one, there’s no Ribbon! It’s not a full Windows to Mac porting porting of the environment, but an app that feels to fit in the Mac OSX ecosystem, while still preserving the familiarity of the other side.

That’s where great video tutorials come into play, I must watched over 150 hours of tutorials on my iPad while commuting in the past few weeks. The visual learning path - which is the core of “monkey see, monkey do” - is essentially a direct link to the Matrix. Books and help manuals are great for reference, but if you wanna learn fast and effectively, VIDEO is the holy grail. I’ve seen a lot of brilliant tutorials on Youtube and used all the big guns in the professional visual learning field including Lynda.com, Digital Tutors, CGcookie, Udemy, Skillshare,…..you name it, I’ve probably tried it, and they’re all fantastic.

Some exciting news has just surfaced about the next release of AutoCAD WS, which will apparently have some really cool features, including the ability to work with 3D drawings, GPS capabilities, as well as “Plot-to-Print” for remote printing to any HP ePrinter, including Designjets.

So, a few days ago I was contacted by ArchiMAG, the international ArchiCAD focused magazine, saying that they wanted to feature one of my tutorials on their blog, and they did, which was great! But then we got talking a bit more and they asked me if I’d like to possibly write for their magazine. I’ve never written anything professionally before, but a couple of articles on the blog have actually brought some consistently large traffic, so I’m giving it a shot!

The periodical covers articles about software and hardware as well as tips n’ tricks, and this month the ArchiMAG magazine is featuring one of my older but still relevant blogposts, “How to use Apple’s Magic Mouse with CAD”. I’m attempting to have at least one article for each future issue of ArchiMAG, so stay tuned.

Check out the cover of this issue’s magazine along with the article! I gotta say, it looks pretty awesome! Continue Reading... >>

The Google Docs Viewer is used by millions of people every day to quickly view PDFs, Microsoft Word documents and PowerPoint presentations online. Not only is viewing files in your browser far more secure than downloading and opening them locally, but it also saves time and doesn’t clutter up your hard-drive with unwanted files.

The time is finally upon us, Oct 15th 2010 will be remembered as a momentous day for Apple, Autodesk, the Mac community and all CAD users around the world. To all CADmonkeys clinging to your Windows machines, as your only excuse for not switching to the Mac has been “no native Autocad on the Mac”, get ready to gracefully take the plunge and join the Mac CAD force; it’s been a long time since Autocad has been available for the Mac, as the application had turned its back on the Mac in the ‘90s, however two days ago Autocad for Mac became available for trial download, full purchase, as well as completely free for students and educators and is spreading like wildfilre! Continue Reading... >>

You may have noticed a couple of weeks ago some news buzzing around. If you can feel a slight chill in the wind don’t be alarmed, it seems only the fiery dungeons of Lucifer have developed some frostiness.

Autodesk has never seemed to be a big fan of the mac platform, though since Apple’s staggering comeback in the recent years, there have been some echoing whispers in the blogosphere as Mac users have been requesting a native version with ever-growing frequency. Well those whispers have been officially silenced, as Autodesk have officially sounded the horn that the upcoming 2011 release of it’s star product Autocad® will be making it’s second debut after nearly two decades on the frikkin Mac, signifying a new level of acceptance and i guess even vindication of Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs for his Mac OSX and iOS vision and strategies.Yauza..., well if you’ve recovered from your hand-to-chest ghasp, get ready for another one. They’ve also announced they will be releasing a version of Autocad for iOS devices like the iPod Touch, iPhone + iPad!!!

Back in October 2009, Apple surprised us with a new introduction to the mac peripherals, the Magic Mouse the world’s first multi-touch mouse. In the past Apple hasn’t been very successful with its mice, but many are starting to come around now that the company has seemed to have nailed it.

The drawback has been for us CAD users that there’s one tiny thing missing..... the essential middle scroll wheel...! Without it to pan + zoom, and orbit around a model, it just takes ages to model anything really - thus rendering the device quite useuless for 3D design.

A couple of months ago I had mentioned that Autodesk had conducted an online survey which suggested the company was evaluating the interest of Mac CAD users, and possibly even alpha testing a Mac version of Autocad! Now it seems the rumours may have actually been true thanks to a sneaky beta tester from Italy....Continue Reading... >>

Archicad may seem like a completely different world if you’re used to using Autocad, but actually many of the concepts are the same - especially the 2D drafting side. Some have different names or are executed in different way, but the outcome is the same or better.Geoffroy Magnan wrote - a few Archicad versions ago - a very comprehensive piece called the AutoCAD to ArchiCAD 2D conversion guide, still very useful to start with. Similar to this is Digital Vision Automation’s AutoCAD/ArchiCAD Cross-training (PDF), which goes through most of the most common commands in both apps and the differences between them.

Though if you’re looking for the “Holy Grail” for Autocad users switching to Archicad, look no further!

ArchiCAD for AutoCAD Users(US amazon affiliate link)The revised (2009) version of the book by Ralph Grabowski + David Byrnes + Geoff Langdon, “Archicad for Autocad users” covers all the commands, procedures and concepts usually known from the Autocad days, and how to replicate, simplify, and even evolve those processes in Archicad. It goes through all the essentials of drawing up floorplans, sections + elevations effectively by providing practical knowledge.

This doesn’t mean that Autocad is completely replaced, there are plenty of ways to share Archicad 2D + 3D files with Autocad, but as Archicad is a full BIM package you can increase your productivity significantly with the Virtual Building Model.I think I’ll let the authors sell the concept themselves :

”We’ve actually found it fun to go from an extensive but general CAD package like AutoCAD, to an advanced architecturally intelligent package like ArchiCAD. Here’s why: a lot of what you had to worry about in AutoCAD (scale, layers, units, setting limits, trimming walls for door openings, and more) is handled automatically by ArchiCAD...

... It is also fun for architectural designers to have the immediate visual feedback of 3D perspectives, sections, and elevations as they are designing, just as they had when designing with cardboard (only better)...

... Over 80% of ArchiCAD users were AutoCAD users in the past, so you have a lot of company. We invite you to see what all those experienced CAD users have discovered in ArchiCAD...”

all about new and exciting Apps for Architects, Engineers and Designers!

There are many rumours going around about which will get to be the first official CAD application on the magical iPad. I discussed in a previous article about the possibility of the tablet device having 3D technology, as many recent Apple patents are steering to such a conclusion.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2011 - In the not so far future, we may see something very interesting from the company, who has been secretly hard at work in developing something, and the multiple rumours and signs are rapidly converging into only one possible outcome : the legendary and anticipated ….BIM Explorer (BIMX) for iOS !Check out the new blog post >>> BIMx : ArchiCAD on iPad ?

Of course there are a few CAD-ish apps on the iPhone - like Mark on Call or CADTouch - but these are mostly vector based drawing applications similar to Adobe Illustrator , only less advanced of course.

“...maybe VectorWorks or ArchiCAD” says Randall Newton as they are both established CAD + BIM applications on the MacOS X platform. Both programs are now under the umbrella of Nemetschek - one of the leading companies for the AEC software sector - having matured to a position where it wouldn’t take as much work to get onto the iPad as say the highly anticipated Autocad for Mac which is still in alpha testing. Autodesk is mainly a Windows based company, though their amazing sketching application Autodesk SketchBook Pro was met with great praise on the Mac and the iPhone|iPod Touch. They’ve taken a good step towards possibly edging their way in with Project Butterfly which makes it easy to view + even edit Autocad drawings via an internet browser, making it technically cross-platform.

If Graphisoft could bring out a native iPad application or at least an Archicad project viewer like Virtual Building Explorer, it would become a great tool to show off and describe designs anywhere with a great touch interface easy enough for anyone to understand the design over coffee or on the building site.